Island Rating
Last updated: 3 April 2022
Once you upgrade Resident Services and unlock the Project K quest line, Isabelle will talk to you about increasing your island’s rating. To see a full breakdown of how the island rating system works, read here: https://tinyurl.com/islandrating. Research, testing and document courtesy of Stoney#9215, Phil#6666.
In general, the best advice we can give is to listen to Isabelle, as she reviews your island in real time and can provide feedback on the areas you’re lacking. That said, it’s always a good idea to put out lots of furniture (both purchased and crafted) and plant lots of flowers and trees!
How is Island Rating calculated?
The island’s rating is based on two separate categories of points. One is based mostly on the buildings, structures, and furniture on the island, which is called Development Points and the other is based mostly on the plant-life on the island called Nature Points. To aid you in calculation, you can use this Island Rating calculator to help calculate your island’s total points.
Isabelle will let you know which category you are lacking in, depending on her response to you when you ask her about island evaluation. The total points required for each category for each star rating is tabled below:
| Star Rating | Development Points | Nature Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1⭐ | - | - |
| 2⭐ | 80+ | 200+ |
| 3⭐ | 160+ | 270+ |
| 4⭐ | 400+ | 350+ |
| 5⭐ | 665+ | 450+ |
Nature Points
Nature points takes into account of the quantity of trees, bamboo, flowers, and DIY furniture on your island. The amount of points awarded by each of the different items listed before can be found in the following table:
| Item | Points awarded |
|---|---|
| Fully grown trees & bamboo1 | 1 |
| Fully grown flowers | 1 |
| Stage 2, 3, 4 crops2 | 1 |
| Crop sprouts2 | 0.5 |
| Flower stems/buds | 0.7 |
| Flower seeds | 0.5 |
| Fully grown bushes1 | 0.5 |
| DIY furniture3 | 0.25 |
| Size 3 DIY furniture3 | 0.75 |
- These can only provide a maximum of 190 nature points.
- Crops include wheat, carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes and sugar cane.
- These are additive, i.e. if a DIY furniture is at least 3 blocks wide, it gives a total nature score of 1.
Development Points
Development points are calculated from the buildings, structures, and furniture placed on the island. This category is also affected by the number of villagers currently on your island, and to a smaller extent, weed count. The amount of points awarded by each of the different items listed before can be found in the following table:
| Item | Points awarded |
|---|---|
| Museum | 15 |
| Able Sister’s | 15 |
| Upgraded Nook’s Cranny | 15 |
| Each bridge1 | 15 |
| Each incline | 15 |
| 9 Villagers2 | 15 |
| 10 Villagers2 | 30 |
| Fewer than 100 weeds3 | 30 |
| Placed item4,5 | 1 |
| Fences | 0.2 |
| 2k Price Bonus5 | 1 |
| 20k Price Bonus5 | 1 |
| Outdoor Bonus5 | 0.5 |
| Size 3 Bonus5 | 3 |
- Bridges only contribute to development points when 2 or more bridges are built, i.e. if only one bridge is built, no points are awarded, and once the second bridge is built, 30 points is awarded for two bridges.
- These are not additive, i.e. you will only get 30 points for 10 villagers, and not 45.
- Every 30 weeds after having more than 100 weeds will reduce the bonus by one point, the bonus being fully removed with 1,000 weeds or more.
- Placing more than 6 of the same items in a 8x8 area will incur a point penalty.
- These are additive, i.e. if an item is an outdoor, size 3 furniture that is priced 20k and above, this means it can contribute a whooping 6.5 development points.
DIY furniture do also contribute to Development Points based on the criteria above.
Rating Caps
The game will cap the island’s star rating if the following occurs:
- The island’s rating will not exceed 1⭐ if you only have 6 or fewer villagers.
- The island’s rating will not exceed 2⭐ if you only have 7 villagers.
- The island’s rating will not exceed 4⭐ if:
- there are 15 or more dropped items on the ground. Isabelle will say the following in that case:
Some of our feedback mentions that there are too many items lying around cluttering up the island. Let’s do what we can to keep our island nice and tidy! Plus, it just makes good economic sense. The shop accepts and sometimes buys any items you no longer need or can’t store at home.
- more than 45 items are placed in a 8x8 area. Isabelle will say the following in that case:
I received some feedback that part of the island has become something of a traffic hazard. Having decorations that improve the scenery is very important, but so is the ability to move about freely.
- there are more than 220 trees/shrubs planted on the island. Isabelle will say the following in that case:
I came across a number of reports that mention an overabundance of trees on our island. Apparently, there have been a few incidents of folks getting lost in the woods and fearing for the worst… Like missing their favorite TV program! I love trees as much as you do, but if our residents feel the island is now too rural, we need to listen.
Certain dropped items, namely those naturally found on the ground will not affect your island rating score. This includes tree branches, stones, sea shells, star fragments, mushrooms, and message bottles. Items dropped on a surface, i.e. a table will also not incur a penalty.
Unknown Factors
While the Island Rating system is heavily researched, there may be some other factors that were not discovered. As quoted from the authors of the breakdown document:
“There may still be unknown factors that affect the Island Evaluation. It is more likely that there are undiscovered points penalties because our tests are currently coming up a few points too high than they should.”
Do take your calculations with a grain of salt and keep this in mind; and again - the best advice we can give is to listen to Isabelle.